The 14 camps will be divided into green and red zones. Camera phones are only allowed in the green zones. Servicemen will still need to surrender their camera phone when entering the red zone which may contain sensitive materials.

NOTE: Although camera phones are allowed in the green zone, unauthorised photography in all SAF camp premises continues to be prohibited regardless of the zone. So don’t go happily take photos inside the camps. Your camera phones may be subjected to security checks.

This is a great move by SAF. It seems like most of the camps with Green zones are reservist camp and training institute. NSmen will no longer need to hunt for a non-camera phone when reporting for their annual ICT and IPPT/RT/IPT.

It is hard for me to describe the amazingness of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon. On the outside, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon looks like your ordinary ThinkPad. It has the classic no nonsense black professional look. But don’t judge the laptop by its look. This is currently the world’s lightest 14 inch ultrabook. And from the look of it, I think it is going to hold on to the title for quite a while.

You will be amazed when you pick up the ThinkPad X1 Carbon for the first time. It weighs just 1.36kg. That’s pretty impressive for a 14 inch laptop. The X1 Carbon is able to be this light thanks to its carbon fiber construction. And it still retain the durability that ThinkPad is well known for. The X1 Carbon is pretty slim too. At 33.1 x 22.6 x 1.885 cm. Yeap, just 1.885cm thick. In case you are wondering, the 13 inch MacBook Air weighs 1.35kg and is 1.7cm thick.

According to Lenovo, the X1 Carbon is able to provide up to 8 hours battery life. And even though it is slim and lightweight, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon comes with a generous multi-gesture glass surface TrackPad. TrackPoint fans will be glad to know that the X1 Carbon comes with the little red TrackPoint. But sadly, Lenovo have decided to dump the classic ThinkPad keyboard in favour of the chiclet keyboard. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve tried the chiclet keyboard and it is pretty good. But personally I feel that nothing beats the classic ThinkPad keyboard. (Oh well, more on that in another blog post)

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is now available in Singapore starting from S$2,349. It you are at COMEX 2012, head down to the Lenovo booth to check it out.

Oh ya, did I mention that it comes with an optional built in 3G mobile broadband? Sweet.

When I first saw the Panasonic Mobile Backup Power, the design reminds me of the Sanyo Eneloop Mobile Booster that I had. It feels weird that Panasonic will release something that looks almost the same as another company’s product. Then I discovered something. Panasonic had acquired Sanyo a couple of years ago. So the Panasonic Mobile Backup Power is actually the next version of the Eneloop Mobile Booster.

I got my hands on the Panasonic Mobile Backup Power 2700mAh to try out. As the name suggest, the Mobile Backup Power has 2700mAh. That’s enough for 1 full charge on your mobile phone (and maybe a little bit more to spare). And it is not just for mobile phones. Any device that uses USB for charging can be use on the Panasonic Mobile Backup Power. Things like your Bluetooth headset, MP3 player, MIFI etc etc.

The Panasonic Mobile Backup Power 2700mAh is pretty small and lightweight. 39 x 70 x 22 mm and weighs just 78 grams. It has only 1 USB out port. It’s very easy to use. Just plug in your device using your device’s USB cable, press the power on button and it starts charging. A indicator light tells you approximately how much power is left. Green means 100% to 60%, Orange means 60% to 30% while Red means less than 30%. Oh, and no light mean 0% lah. It is much easier to tell the battery level now compared to the Sanyo Eneloop Mobile Booster.

Recharging the Panasonic Mobile Backup Power is easy. I like the fact that it is using a MicroUSB charging port for recharging. This means that you can use your smartphone charger (unless you are using iPhone) to recharge your Panasonic Mobile Backup Power. It takes around 3 1/2 hours to fully recharge the Panasonic Mobile Backup Power 2700mAh. You can also use USB connected to your computer to charge but that will take 7 hours.

The Panasonic Mobile Backup Power is a great upgrade from the Sanyo Eneloop Mobile Booster. It fixes all the shortcoming of the Sanyo Eneloop Mobile Booster while retaining its strength.

PS: The retail package does not include USB cables. The short USB cable in the picture belongs to me.

If you are like me and carry lots of devices around, 2700mAh will most likely not be enough for you. Well, you’ll be glad to know that there is a 5400mAh version. It has 2 USB output ports, weighs 142 grams and is 62 x 70 x 22mm. This should be enough to charge your mobile phone up to 2 times with some to spare.

The Panasonic Mobile Backup Power 5400mAh is retailing at $89.90 while the Panasonic Mobile Backup Power 2700mAh is retailing at S$49.90.

Remember the Real Escape Game? It’s back for the 3rd volume. This time, you will be solving the mystery behind The Crazy Last Will of Dr. MAD.

The Real Escape Game in Singapore Vol.3 “The Crazy Last Will Dr. MAD”

40 years have passed since the death of Dr. Mad, a physicist known as the greatest genius of the last century.

Rumor has it that he uncovered the secret to human prosperity, but passed away before revealing it to the world.

In accordance with his last wishes, his will was sealed for 40 years following his death. And now the time has come for it to be opened. Many mysterious clues lie hidden within, along with the following challenge.